The present invention relates generally to wheels for use on vehicles. In another aspect, the present invention relates to a safety wheel for use in attaching pneumatic tires to a vehicle which minimizes the danger resulting from blowout of the tires and provides improved control stability of the tire. In addition, resilient spokes are provided in the wheel and act as springs to smooth the ride of the vehicle.
In the design of wheeled vehicles, such as automobiles, trucks, trailers, and the like, it has been common to use pneumatic tires to obtain a smooth and comfortable ride. These pneumatic tires are conventionally mounted on the exterior of a metallic rim and are inflated through a check valve attached to the rim. The tires are conventionally manufactured with an outer wall constructed from a flexible material.
Although these pneumatic tires provide a soft, comfortable ride, they have not been entirely satisfactory under all conditions of service. One undesirable aspect is that if a sharp object inadvertently comes into contact with a tire, a hole or puncture can be formed in a tire allowing the tire to deflate, thus suddenly reducing the tire's effective radius. This sudden reduction in the effective radius of a tire of a vehicle moving at a high rate of speed can make steering and control difficult, if not impossible during the dangerous period while the vehicle is decelerated to a safe speed. In addition, damage can be caused to the tire by it's being compressed between the rim and the roadway during the bringing of the automobile to a halt. Also, movement of the vehicle to a safe place where the tire may be removed is difficult with these conventional tires.
It has also been conventional to use wheels having more than one tire thereon. These conventional dual tire wheels, when used on the front of highway vehicles, tend to wobble at high speeds.